Cherry Sand
by Myrddin Emrys The Third
Summary: She was found in the desert, injured and poisoned. When no one knows how to cure her, will Sakura be able to find the answer? And will a certain red head be there for her when she needs it?
1. Chapter 1

**An interesting story available to read! Well, I like it, anyway. I've been working on this for absolutely ages, and finally I got the first chapter finished! I really hope you like it.**

**I don't own Naruto.**

_**Cherry Sand**_

**Chapter One**

She woke slowly, not really registering what was around her. Her brain felt fuzzy, like she'd been drugged or something, and Sakura instinctively searched inwardly with her chakra, but discovered to her horror that she couldn't access it. What had happened? And why did her brain feel so heavy? With much difficulty, she opened her eyes and saw that she was in the last place she would have expected.

It was a bedroom, one she was not familiar with. Racking her brain, all Sakura could remember was a massive fight that she had lost rather painfully, and a lot of feet kicking her while she was down. Yet despite her rather groggy state, there didn't seem to be any pain accompanying it. It was rather mysterious, and she was determined to get to the bottom of it.

Sitting up with a lot of difficulty, she looked around and saw that the bedroom she occupied was rather bland, and the walls were made of rather grainy stone. The only place she knew of that had their buildings done in such a way was Suna, and figured that was probably where she was. Wind country was the last place she remembered being, after all. There had been a client, one who'd run off and left her to deal with the enemies that had appeared out of nowhere. Sakura cursed him and hoped they'd gotten him good. Little coward.

She figured that her lack of chakra was contributing to the way her head was pounding, and as she continued to stare around the room, Sakura wondered if it was some kind of poison. Or maybe her chakra was simply depleted. In any case, she really needed to get her hands on something that would help her to recover. Right now, she felt weak and helpless, and that was a sensation that she'd promised herself long ago that she would never find herself in again if she could help it.

Standing up on very shaky legs, Sakura limped her way over to the window and looked out. It was pretty much as she'd guessed, she was in Suna. And she gathered from what she remembered of the geography of the village that she was in Gaara, Temari and Kankurou's home. Well, that was something at least. She had been worried that someone she didn't know and trust had found her, but the sand siblings finding her were like a blessing from kami.

Almost as if thinking of them had conjured them up, the door behind her opened and Sakura turned to see Temari walk into the room. The older kunoichi immediately noticed that their 'guest' was no longer in bed and her gaze zeroed in on the pinkette that was standing by the window.

"Hello Sakura," she greeted as she entered the room. "You really shouldn't be up. The medics said that you need rest after the beating you took."

It was true, she probably should be resting, but Sakura had never been good at taking advice from other medics, even her shishou's. Inactivity was an anathema to her. But one look at Temari's stern face had her sighing. Considering that she was as weak as a kitten right now, it probably wouldn't hurt to rest a little while longer. And knowing the other woman like she did, it probably _would _hurt not to.

As she was settled into the bed once more, Sakura asked, "What happened?"

Temari's brow rose. "We were hoping you could tell us," she remarked.

"I was ambushed," Sakura said. "I was on a mission to escort someone to a small village on Wind's coast, and we were ambushed. My client ran off while I was fighting, and I don't know what happened to him."

She fixed Temari with a determined look. "When I asked what happened, I meant, who found me? Where was I found? Those kinds of things."

Temari sighed. "Gaara and a team of jounin found you," she said. "They were out scouting for some missing nin, and found you in a bloody mess in the middle of the east sector. I think that Gaara thinks that maybe the ones he was looking for did this to you. Plus, they also found your client, I assume, a certain distance from you and dead. It's going to have a lot of backlash, because he was an important person, where trade is concerned."

Now Sakura felt bad for calling him a coward, even though he had been. But now that she knew he was dead, it just seemed to be in poor taste. And then a question occurred to her.

"How long have I been here?" she asked.

"Just over two weeks," Temari told her. "Our medics had quite a challenge keeping you alive for awhile there. It seemed that everything they tried, you just got worse. Apparently the poison you were injected with caused your own chakra to turn on you and attack you, and in the end, they had to drain everything you had to keep you alive."

That explained the lack of chakra inside her. But then, Sakura realised that that kind of poison had probably done more damage than anyone realised, and she knew that she was going to have to have a look at the results for the poison herself. And it sounded a little similar to something that she knew the Hyuuga clan had dealt with before. Maybe she could get her shishou to look into it.

"While you were out," Temari went on, "we notified Konoha. They sent someone to help, as well as an idiot who refused to stay away once he knew what was going on."

She'd said that last bit with a wry smile, and Sakura just knew that she meant Naruto. Temari moved over to a closet and opened it, rummaging around a bit before pulling out some clothes.

"I suppose you _could_ actually get up for a little bit," she admitted, "as long as you don't overdo it. There's a shower you can use, directly across the hall from you. I'm sure you'll appreciate being clean."

Sakura smiled gratefully, and when Temari left the room, she stood rather gingerly and grabbed the clothes, again limping as she made her way to the door. Once it was open, she was about to take the few steps necessary to reach the bathroom when another door opened and someone stepped into the hall. Looking over, she saw that it was Gaara, and he had a concerned look on his face.

"Should you be up?" he asked.

"Temari thought I might like a shower," was Sakura's answer, and for some reason, it sounded pretty lame to her ears.

But Gaara nodded and turned away, walking along the hall until he was out of sight. Sakura then limped forward and entered the bathroom, looking forward to cleaning herself off. As soon as she got in there, she started up the shower, then removed her clothes. It was slow going, as she still felt weak as shit, and it was taking a lot of energy to even get under the water. But once she did, Sakura simply stood there a moment and let the water wash over her.

This poison that Temari had mentioned had really caught her interest. Something that could do that kind of damage was no ordinary poison. The ones the Hyuuga had encountered did something similar, but also drained away the chakra instead of just turning it on the victim, making their death slow and extremely painful. The pink haired medic was intensely grateful that that hadn't happened to her.

After standing there for who knew how long, Sakura decided that her time in the shower was up, and she quickly washed herself and got out of there. There were a few big fluffy towels just lying there, and she dried herself with one of them, noting that it smelled of sandalwood and something else she couldn't identify. Once she was dry, she wrapped the towel around her and moved towards where she'd put the clothes, then cried out as pain shot up her leg. In an instant, she'd fallen to the floor, and Sakura gasped as the pain intensified before subsiding to a dull ache. Unfortunately, she discovered that her leg was now useless, and she couldn't get herself off the floor.

The door burst open suddenly and Sakura looked up to see Gaara standing there, staring at her. "What happened?" he demanded, coming forward and gathering her up in his arms.

Sakura was about to answer, but then Temari appeared as well. "What happened?" she also exclaimed.

"I have pain in my leg," Sakura told them, tears pricking in her eyes, though she refused to let them fall. "I can't move it now."

"Go get a medic, Tem," Gaara commanded. "I'll get Sakura back into bed."

Temari nodded and took off, leaving Gaara and Sakura alone. Suddenly Sakura felt self-conscious in his arms, but he didn't seem to notice as he carried her back to her room, laying her down gently on the sheets. It was then that he seemed to realise that she was in nothing but a towel.

"I'll go get your clothes," he said, vanished for a few moments before returning with the dress that Temari had picked out for her.

He helped her get the dress on over her head, without the towel falling down. Once the garment was on, Sakura reached down and wriggled a bit until the towel came off underneath the dress.

"Do you want something to eat or drink?" Gaara asked, and Sakura nodded, not really wanting to speak at the moment.

Gaara left, and Sakura was alone with her thoughts. How on earth was she supposed to recover from this? First, she was out for two weeks, then the chakra loss, the pain and the suddenly useless limb. As soon as possible, she was going to send a message to her shishou and demand that she requisition the Hyuuga records on the poison. They were incredibly tight-lipped on the damned thing! In any case, there was little time to mull over it as Temari returned with a medic.

"This is Ume," Temari introduced the medic to Sakura. "She's the one who's done most of the healing on you. Tell her what happened."

Sakura repeated the earlier events for the Suna medic, who frowned when she heard this. "That's a problem," she stated obviously. "We already can't figure out the poison, which is still in you, by the way. We couldn't completely purge it."

Sakura's eyebrow rose. "That's probably what happened, then," she said. "The poison is still there, and still doing damage. You didn't happen to bring my charts, did you?"

"Yes, I did," Ume said, reaching into her bag and pulling out a folder. "I also brought you all the information we've gathered so far, including what methods failed to work and what ones nearly worked."

Grateful, Sakura took the information in hand and began to read through it just as her door opened once again and Gaara appeared with food on a tray. "We'll leave you be," Temari said, dragging Ume out of there.

Gaara set the tray on the bed, and sat down on the bed as well. "Are those your medical reports?" he asked, and she nodded.

"Maybe I can figure out what's going on," she said, then looked up. "Temari said Naruto is here."

Gaara nodded. "He's asleep, though," he told her. "He was up all last night and the night before, and just crashed earlier today."

Sakura sighed. Stupid Naruto. She'd told him not to push himself for any reason, and not sleeping for that long was just stupid! But then she looked up again and her eyes met Gaara's.

"How have you been sleeping, Gaara?" she asked.

"Well," he told her. "Thanks to you."

A couple of years ago Sakura had helped him to be able to sleep better, and she knew he was grateful for it. The rings around his eyes were slightly fainter, but she knew that even if he got a good night's sleep every day for the rest of his life, he probably wouldn't be able to get rid of the rings completely. Her visit was one of the reason she knew Suna so well.

As she read through her files, Sakura also ate, conscious of the fact that Gaara was watching over her every move. Was he waiting to see if she needed help again? In any case, his staring was making her more than a little uncomfortable. She was about to say something when pain suddenly gripped her chest.

"What is it?" Gaara asked, immediately moving forward to help her sit back against the pillows.

"Chest… pain…" Sakura wheezed, not liking the way she was breathing.

"Do you want me to get Temari?" he asked, and she nodded.

It was agony waiting, but when Gaara came back with Temari, Sakura discovered that Ume was still here. The medic came forward, hands glowing, as she searched her patient for the cause of the pain. The frown that graced her features a moment later did not sit too well with Sakura.

"What…?" she gasped.

"The poison has spread to your lungs," Ume said as she worked to get the poison out of said area. "I'm sorry, I thought I had it blocked from your vital organs yesterday."

Sakura nodded, every gasping breath an agony. "Is there anything you need?" Temari asked Ume.

"Can you get me the large purple bag I brought with me?" the medic asked. "There are herbs in there, including ones that will hopefully soothe the pain, if only for a little while."

Temari was off in a flash, and back only moments later with the bag. Ume immediately retracted her chakra from Sakura, causing the pain to increase slightly as she rummaged around in the bag before pulling out a vial with some kind of black liquid in it.

"You have to drink this," Ume said. "It will reduce the pain, though I don't know how long for, alright?"

Sakura nodded and reached out for the vial, which Ume helped bring to her lips. It was absolutely disgusting and foul, but Sakura determinedly drank every last drop. After what seemed an eternity, the pain faded to almost nothing, and that was when she became aware of a most peculiar thing.

Gaara was sitting beside her, his arms around her in a supportive manner, and Sakura realised that he must have been holding her during her painful tremors. One of his hands was even in her hair, stroking slightly. What the heck was that all about? In any case, there was no time to ponder over the strange actions.

"You need to get some sleep," Ume commanded, and Gaara stood, leaving Sakura on the bed alone. "If it's alright, I'll stay here tonight so I can be on hand in case you wake up and need medical attention."

Sakura nodded and Temari said, "I'll go get a cot, you can sleep in here."

The two women left, leaving Sakura alone with Gaara, but he didn't stay long either. "I'll see you in the morning," he told her, then left the room.

Temari and Ume returned a few moments later, and the two of them set up the cot before Ume gave Sakura a sleeping draught. As Sakura lay back, allowing the herbs to lull her into sleep, she thought over how strange it was that all this was happening, and determined that, when she woke up, she was going to get started on figuring out a cure for the poison.

**So what did you think? Review and let me know.**


	2. Chapter 2

**New chapter! I love this one. Enjoy!**

**I don't own Naruto.**

**Chapter Two**

_Shishou,_

_First, I'd like to say that, except for the poison of which I'm sure they've told you about, I'm_

_fine. Second, I would like you to send some herbs over here, specifically, ones that deal with_

_poison and chakra draining/replenishing. The ones that they don't have here, that is, I've_

_enclosed a list with this letter. Third, could you speak to Hyuuga Hiashi regarding a chakra_

_draining poison they encountered once? This poison has some rather disturbing similarities._

_I'm hoping that they might have a clue about how to beat it._

_Anyway, I would appreciate it if you could get all those things to me as soon as possible,_

_because I don't know how much time there is to treat this, since I know almost nothing about it._

_Sakura._

Sighing, Sakura sat back and perused the letter, making sure she hadn't forgotten anything. Once she was satisfied, she sealed it up with her personal seal, with the list of the herbs and antidotes inside it as well, then handed it over to the jounin that had been waiting for her to finish. Temari had co-opted her brother's jounin to take the letter up to the aviary and had also promised that Sakura could visit the greenhouses so that she could begin work on the poison flowing through her chakra network.

Speaking of Temari's brother, Gaara had been rather strange since she'd woken up, she'd noticed. Hair stroking aside, he'd been rather attentive, always making sure someone was with her just in case she had another bout of pain. Right now, Shikamaru, who'd accompanied Naruto to Suna, was leaning back in a chair, probably contemplating on how this was all a lost opportunity to just stare at clouds. Looking over at him, she noticed how he seemed to be only barely paying attention, but she knew he was aware of what was going on in the room.

"Shika," Sakura said, and the lazy jounin reluctantly raised his head and opened his eyes.

"What is it, Sakura?" he asked. "Are you in pain?"

Well, she was, but that wasn't the point. "I want to go to the greenhouse," she told him. "I want to get some herbs and I want to make some painkillers that I know they don't keep on hand, but I know they have the ingredients for."

"Uh-uh," Shikamaru said. "The Kazekage said you have to stay here, in the Kage Manor, so you're going to be staying here. I know you were expecting to get out of here, but Gaara overrode Temari's ok, so I'll get _her_ to get it, or someone else. Naruto can keep an eye on you til then."

Sakura sighed. "Fine," she conceded, "but don't take too long."

While he was gone, Naruto sat there regaling her with tales of how he and Shika had charged over here to Suna when they'd heard about her, and how everyone back in Konoha was worried about her. "Ino was in an absolute panic!" he said. "She wanted to come here, but Tsunade-baa refused, saying she had missions to complete! Then Ino said she didn't care about the mission, because you were hurt. Man, Ino may be an annoying and shrill woman, but she's sure a great friend, huh, Sakura-chan?"

Sakura smiled. "She sure is," she agreed, then said, "I'm surprised at you, Naruto. I would have thought you'd come charging in here before like you always do. You haven't tried to crush me in a hug yet."

"Uh, well I wanted to," he admitted sheepishly, "but then Temari threatened me. Shikamaru's right, she's one scary lady!"

Sakura grinned. "That's true," she agreed. "You should have seen what she did once to Kankurou when he bad mouthed her cooking a couple of years back! I thought Kankurou was going to die just from the fright!"

Naruto laughed at that, and the two of them shared stories about anything and everything, even if they'd heard it all before, until Shikamaru came back, Temari following closely. "Here's the herbs you wanted," Shika said in a bored tone. "Naruto, you can leave now."

"Don't be so mean, Shika!" Temari chastised. "Naruto can stay here, and you can help me with a little project I've got going, alright?"

Shikamaru looked pained, but didn't dare argue.

Sakura giggled. "She's determined to get him to admit that he likes her," she commented.

"Poor Shikamaru," Naruto commiserated. "I'm just glad it isn't me."

That made Sakura laugh and as she went through the herbs and began making her painkillers, Sakura felt on top of the world. At least, for now.

0o0o0

Ume continued to help Sakura monitor the poison and the pain, and always made sure there was a ready supply of painkillers on hand just in case of more spasms, which was a good thing, since it ended up that Sakura always seemed to have at least one, sometimes two, a day. It was now a week since she'd woken, and she was wondering what was taking so long for her shishou to answer her letter. She found out soon enough when someone turned up on the eighth day.

Neji, Lee and Tenten turned up, with Neji bearing a scroll that he said contained a rather well-worn book inside. He presented it to Sakura with a slight bow. "Lord Hiashi sends his best wishes and hopes that this will help you get better," he told her.

Sakura smiled. "Thank you, Neji," she said. "Are you staying, or are you going back straight away?"

"I have been instructed to remain here for as long as you need the book," he told her, "then I am to take it straight back."

Sakura nodded in understanding, and Neji went on, "Plus, we have brought the herbs you asked Hokage-sama for. Tenten has them."

Tenten came forward then and handed over a bag, from which the scent of herbs could be detected. "Here you go," she said. "Lady Tsunade said to apologise for the delay, but it was a little hard to convince Hiashi to let the book out of the Hyuuga compound. He only agreed when she promised that it would never leave Neji's sight."

So that meant that Neji was going to be there while she studied it, watching her like a hawk. Sakura sighed and said, "That's fine, but please don't distract me, I get uncomfortable when someone is just sitting there and staring."

Which was what happened with Gaara lately. He'd stare at her now and then, just stare, and it was really disconcerting to her. "I promise not to distract you," Neji told her.

All of them except Neji left then, and he helped her to stand and walk over to a chair and desk, where he took the scroll from her, laid it out, and released the jutsu that held the book inside it. Then he moved over to another chair and simply waited as Sakura began pouring over the book, taking in as much as she could, trying to find all the references to chakra draining poisons that she could.

Every now and then she called on Neji to explain something in it to her, mostly notes made by those who'd added to this book. Finally, she found what she was looking for, and let out a small whoop, startling Neji.

"Are you alright?" he demanded, jumping to his feet and rushing over to her.

"I'm fine, sorry," Sakura told him. "I just found it, that's all. Here, look, the poison is mentioned here, the same symptoms and everything."

A small smile graced Neji's features. "Then you can be cured in no time, ne?" he asked.

Grinning, Sakura told him, "It requires manipulation of my chakra pathways, combined with a formula for a medicine that I can easily make. The only thing is, there are only two people in Suna who can manipulate chakra on the level required, and they're both in this room."

"You and I?" Neji asked.

"That's right," Sakura answered. "Just you and me, Neji. So, how do you feel about playing doctor for me?"

"Turnabout is fair play," he told her, and she grinned.

0o0o0

Gaara was sitting there, listening to Ume talk about the hospital's work. It was her weekly update, as Head of the medical staff in Suna. He really didn't want to hear it, but knew he had to. Yet his thoughts kept wandering to a certain pinkette who was currently staying under his roof. The last time she'd been here, her presence had been an annoyance, at least at first. But this time was different, this time it felt like she belonged here.

"Kazekage-sama, are you listening to me?"

Ume's voice cut through his thoughts. "Forgive me," he said, "I'm not concentrating today."

"You're still worried about Sakura-san, aren't you?" Ume asked. "I'm sure she'll be fine. She's a great medic, and she'll have this figured out in no time, then be back on her way to Konoha."

The idea of Sakura leaving made Gaara scowl, and he felt an irrational anger at Ume for reminding him of the fact. He squashed it down though, being an expert now at ignoring his more base impulses. Instead, he refocused his attention so that he could listen to Ume's report.

When it was done, he quickly sorted out all the paperwork left and headed out, wanting to see how Sakura was doing.

0o0o0

"Are you sure you've got it right?" Sakura asked. "Not that I'm doubting your abilities, but I'm rather attached to my chakra, you see."

Neji sighed. "I'm perfectly capable of doing this, Sakura," he told her. "Now, lay down on the bed so we can get this over with."

The two of them had come to an agreement that Neji was going to infuse his chakra into her, drain out all her infected chakra, then block her pathways. At that point, she was going to take the formula she'd concocted, and they would wait for an hour, then Neji would open her chakra network again and transfer some of his own chakra into her. In both instances, it was going to be rather like a massage, as Neji had to reach all of her chakra points, and had to go over one by one, rather methodically.

Sighing, Sakura laid down, refusing to close her eyes because she wanted to see how Neji was going to do this. She'd always been fascinated by how the Hyuuga manipulated chakra, and this was the perfect opportunity to observe it. She watched as he started at her toes, moving up to her feet, over her ankles and up her legs. His chakra felt rather tingly, and the moment seemed quite intimate. But there was no other Hyuuga, bar Hinata, that she would trust with this kind of thing.

"How are you feeling?" Neji asked as his hands ran over her thighs.

"A little ticklish," Sakura admitted, her leg twitching. "You're not going to use the fact that I'm ticklish against me, are you?"

Neji smiled a real smile. "Maybe, maybe not," he answered cryptically.

His hands moved over her hips, then over her belly and to the side, and Sakura's body twitched. Neji's lips quirked once more. "Stop fidgeting," he ordered.

As his hand moved higher, Sakura wondered if he would avoid certain areas, and got her answer as his hands swept over her breasts. Her breath hitched at the intimacy of it all, but she knew that Neji wouldn't do anything inappropriate. His hands ran along her arms then back up, over her neck and to the top of her head. He pulled his hands away then, and stared at her a moment.

"Roll over so I can do the other side," he told her, and Sakura complied.

He started at her head this time, running his hands over her hair and neck, and the return of his chakra sent warmth through her. She was fascinated by how her chakra network was reacting to the presence of his chakra, and was determined to talk with him about it once they were done with the first part. Neji's hands moved over her shoulders, down her back and over her bum, before he moved down her legs and finally to her feet, ending up where he'd originally started.

He pulled away and Sakura sat up, reaching for the vial on the little drawer next to the bed. After downing it in one go, she asked, "Did you notice the way my chakra was reacting? It wasn't resisting being drained, and I thought that was weird. Usually chakra resists, even if only a little."

"I believe it has to do with trust and familiarity," Neji told her. "The Hyuuga clan has studied this phenomenon, and we are convinced that familiarity with a person makes their chakra more malleable. It's why we prefer to get to know our personal medics."

That made sense. "Who is your uncle's personal medic?" she asked.

"One of my cousins," was the reply. "He will trust no one else with his medical needs, unless it is an emergency."

A realisation struck Sakura. "Does this mean that I…?"

She trailed off, but Neji understood and nodded. "You are the only one Hinata-sama and I trust. Shizune too, if necessary."

Sakura felt honoured, she really did. The two of them whiled away the hour, talking about Hyuuga traditions, then it was time for the final part. "I want to start with the back this time," Neji said. "Reversing the previous directions will yield the best results."

Sakura nodded and lay on her front, and felt Neji's hands at her feet again. The chakra felt different this time, like it was welcoming an old friend. Before it had felt intimate, now it felt friendly. Even when he went over her butt again, there was nothing untoward in the way Sakura felt. His chakra washed through her, making her feel like she was home. When she turned over, it was the same, but as Neji reached her stomach, the door opened suddenly.

They were in quite a compromising position, she knew. Neji was positioned over her with his hands touching her intimately, after all.

A voice demanded, "What is going on here?" and Neji's hands froze on her, banishing the friendly feeling and returning the intimate, but still comfortable, one from before.

Sakura and Neji both turned their heads and they saw that both Temari and Gaara were standing there. The look on Gaara's face was one of extreme hurt and betrayal, and Sakura didn't understand it one bit.

**Just so you know, there's nothing going on with Sakura and Neji, the chakra exchange is just quite intimate, though. It will, however, force Gaara to confront his feelings about Sakura, and also will make Sakura confront it as well. Temari is just there to antagonise the situation.**

**I've been thinking about how long this story will be. At the moment, just two or three more chapters, but if I develop more plot, then that may increase. Anyway, REVIEW!**


	3. Chapter 3

_Hey there! I know, it's been too long since I last updated, but I've been without my muse, and rather unwilling to write anything, even when it was right in front of me. But I got my laptop back finally! And it was like a miracle! I started typing and couldn't stop! So, I'm sorry it took so long, but here's an update finally!_

_I don't own Naruto..._

**Chapter Three**

"What is going on here?"

Sakura and Neji sprung apart, and Temari came storming into the room. "What were you doing, Hyuuga?" she demanded.

"Trying to restore her chakra network," Neji answered aloofly. "Of course with this interruption, we'll probably have to start again."

Temari turned to Sakura, who was staring at Gaara. "Well?" the Suna kunoichi demanded. "Is it true?"

More than a little put out at having her treatment interrupted, Sakura snapped, "What's with the tone, Temari? What right do you have to question what we were doing anyway?"

"What right!" Temari almost screeched. "If it weren't for us, you'd probably be dead right now!"

"But that doesn't give you the right to interfere in my personal life!" Sakura yelled back. "No matter what was going on here with me and Neji, none of that is your damned business!"

Temari opened her mouth to argue more, but she stopped when Sakura's body suddenly stiffened and convulsions began to shake her. Chakra flared around her, rather like little bolts of electricity, as if she'd been electrocuted. Neji immediately attempted to grab her shoulder, only to be given a jolt.

"Damn it!" he swore, foregoing his usual stoic demeanour. "I have to get hold of her, the chakra is killing her!"

He focused his chakra to imitate the signature coming from her, which wasn't hard, since it was _his _chakra after all, and thrust his hands at her shoulders. "What can we do to help?" Gaara asked, and Neji was glad that Temari wasn't the one who'd spoken.

"You can leave," he said. "Thanks to your interruption, I'm going to have to start the process all over again, and I don't know how it will go now with this added damage."

Vaguely aware of the fact that they left the room, Neji concentrated all his efforts into draining the chakra he'd only just given her, out of her system. "Come on, Sakura," he murmured. "Don't give up. Fight."

Perhaps she'd heard him, as the chakra slowly drained out of her and back into him, and Neji could feel the poison as he did this, but thankfully his own chakra remained untainted. Bit by agonising bit, the chakra was withdrawn from her, and the convulsions ceased. But Sakura was unconscious now, and he knew that they wouldn't be able to try anything again until she woke, and he intended to let her rest until she woke naturally.

0o0o0

"I can't believe it!" Temari fumed. "Restoring her chakra? Treating her? A likely story! They were probably fooling around! When Sakura wakes, she's getting a piece of my…"

"Shut up, Temari."

Gaara's voice was soft, but the threat in it was hard to ignore. Temari bit her lip, then stared at her brother a moment. Sighing, Gaara said, "He _was _treating her, Tem," he said. "If you'd been paying attention, you would have seen it for yourself."

"What do you mean?" Temari demanded. "All I saw was him feeling her up, and her liking it!"

"Even if that were true, Sakura was correct, you have no right to interfere," the red head spoke. "But the Hyuuga was manipulating her chakra, I could see the threads."

"But Gaara, I know that you…"

"Don't finish that sentence," Gaara warned.

Temari sighed but did as he asked. "I hope Sakura won't be too mad at me," she said.

A small smile quirked the edges of Gaara's mouth. "She'll probably want to strangle you," he observed.

0o0o0

Sakura woke with a start, shooting up to a sitting position with a sharp cry, and instantly she felt hands on her, checking her vitals and soothing her jumpy nerves. Neji was there, and she relaxed.

"What happened?" she wanted to know.

"We were interrupted," Neji told her. "You suffered convulsions as a result of the incomplete procedure, which means that the poison wasn't totally eradicated, either."

Sakura sighed. She knew that it was going to require the combined effort of the antidote and the chakra treatment to get rid of the poison completely, so this was an annoying delay to her recovery. Leaning back against the headboard of the bed, she closed her eyes and allowed her thoughts to go over the interruption. Temari had been livid, for what reason she wasn't sure, but there were a few guesses available. All of them had to do with Gaara, and the way he'd been behaving around her lately.

He'd been very supportive, but also extremely protective, almost possessively so. His staring was on the increase, and he seemed to find reason to touch her, if only just lightly touching her arm to get her attention about something. He seemed also to be… Suddenly it hit her. Like a ton of bricks the truth of the matter hit her so hard she probably would have fallen over if she'd been standing. How could she have not seen this? Gaara liked her, _really _liked her. It was the only possible solution. But whether or not he was completely aware of the fact, she wasn't sure.

A more important question was, did she like him? Because if not, then she was going to have to do something to nip this in the bud before it got too far out of hand. The memory of Gaara's hurt expression when the door had opened on her and Neji gave her suspicions that it was already too late, but Sakura really needed to determine first how she felt. After she was healed though. Her time and energy needed to be spent making herself healthy, all other matters needed to wait. Decision made, she turned to Neji.

"We should try this again, now," she told him.

Neji nodded. "Lay back and we'll start again," he told her, then added, "I really hope there won't be another interruption."

Over an hour later it was finally done, and Sakura breathed a sigh of relief. "Now we just have to wait," she said.

"Get some sleep," Neji told her. "I'll go warn the others not to disturb you."

Sakura nodded and settled into the bed, closing her eyes and allowing her thoughts to drift as she heard the door open and close, signalling Neji's departure.

0o0o0

Gaara was sitting in the main living room of their home, listening to Lee regale his latest mission successes to Naruto, who seemed like he was only pretending to be interested, when Neji emerged from Sakura's room. "She's resting," the Hyuuga told them. "I would recommend that no one go in there until morning, let her sleep."

Lee nodded seriously and declared, "Don't you worry, my Eternal Rival! We all care about Sakura-chan's well-being here! We would never do anything to endanger it! Isn't that right, Naruto!"

"You bet!" the blond agreed. "Sakura-chan will get better, and then we can take her back home!"

Gaara's gut clenched painfully, and he realised that there was no way of denying it any further. He wanted Sakura to stay here, with him, forever. Was he in love with her? Maybe, he wasn't sure how love felt in that respect. He knew that Kankurou was constantly falling in and out of love with every pretty face that crossed his path, and he thought that maybe Temari loved that lazy fool Nara, though she often denied it, but still schemed to get near him any chance she got.

The night wore on, and slowly people began to wander off to their rooms to get some sleep, but Gaara remained where he was, his brain still processing everything he'd figured out, and what he hadn't. Sakura's presence here was something he enjoyed, a great deal, and he never wanted it to end. But there was no guarantee that she wanted the same as him, and he was too… afraid to find out, in case she really didn't want to, and he wasn't sure he could take that kind of rejection. Gaara didn't handle that kind of thing very well, his uncle was a prime example of that fact.

In the end, though, he decided just to let it go, maybe things would resolve themselves without his needing to do or say anything. It was rather cowardly, and unlike him, but there was no way he could handle her saying no to him, for whatever reason. He was undoubtedly already in way too deep anyway. As he went off to his own bed, Gaara wondered bitterly how he was going to handle her going back to Konoha.

0o0o0

The moon had already reached its peak and was waning when Sakura awoke quite suddenly. Checking the clock by the bedside, she noted that it was 3.30 in the morning, and for some reason, she felt wide awake. Sitting up, Sakura noted that she felt a change in her chakra, a good change. She could reach it, it was tangible at last, and there wasn't even the slightest hint of pain or poison. Grinning triumphantly, she knew that she and Neji had done it!

But that didn't mean that it was over. With this kind of poison, Sakura knew it would be awhile before she would be allowed back on active duty, considering that her control over her chakra was most likely going to be rather wonky for awhile. The fact of the matter was that she'd been overstretched, but there were exercises that she could do to help it along. Three weeks minimum before her chakra would be stable enough for use in a combat or medical situation, no less than that.

Grinning at the thought of a three week holiday, Sakura stood and found a full length wrap and pulled it around her, going over to the window and looking out. The night was incredibly bright, and she decided to go for a walk up to the roof so she could look at the stars. That was something she hadn't done in quite awhile, not since she was last in Suna actually. The stars were brighter and much clearer here than in Konoha, but that was because lights were usually left on all the way until the sun came back up. But in Suna, they switched them off at about midnight each night.

There was a balcony, and to the left a set of stairs that led to the roof. She headed up, and once she reached the roof, Sakura felt a peace that always came whenever she watched the heavens. She'd always loved visiting Suna, though Konoha would always be her home. Nothing could replace the forests in her heart, but there was certainly room for so much more. Speaking of room in her heart, her mind wandered to Gaara, and her little realisation about him earlier. His attention made her feel nervous, but she realised there was an underlying excitement to it as well. She hadn't felt any interest for another person in that way for a long time. Not since Sasuke really.

That didn't mean that she hadn't dated. No, she'd put herself out there, but most of it had been at Ino's probing. Her friend was determined to set her up with someone, preferably of _her_ choosing. Sakura had only agreed because each time Ino had made a really good argument about how the pinkette was constantly either working or training, and wasn't leaving much room for a personal life.

In any case, her reaction to the thought of Gaara liking her had her thinking that maybe it wouldn't hurt to at least give it a try, see how it went. But then she knew that he didn't have much experience in these matters, from all the times Temari had bemoaned her brother's 'lonely status' whenever she'd visited Konoha. Sakura knew that the Suna kunoichi wanted her brother to find someone, but that her wish was thwarted by Gaara's inability to get along with females except on a professional level.

Sakura frowned and wondered if Temari knew of Gaara's feelings. That would probably explain her reaction earlier, why she was so angry. It really wasn't any of her business, but if she saw Neji as a threat to her brother's happiness, well... then her temper would _definitely_ shine! Sighing, the pinkette allowed her thoughts to wander randomly, thus missing the sound of a door opening and closing until she heard a voice speak.

"Sakura?"

Turning, Sakura found Gaara standing by the main roof access door, staring at her, and she swallowed hard. The look on his face was one of concern, and immediately she noted that same look that he'd been giving her this whole time. Oh dear, how was she going to handle this?

_So. it's late and I'm going to bed now. I'll see if I can get some writing done tomorrow. Goodnight everyone, and make sure you review!_


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